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Although online gambling was on the rise before the dreaded pathogen, the past 18 months has seen growth and demand skyrocket. Quarantines and the closing of many stores has shifted the focus to online purchases from brick and mortar stores. This of course has translated in demand for more online focused options as well as we ways to supply the extraordinary demand of those at home, in our article we look at its overall impact with Slotaholic the igaming guide for Canada.

25 years ago, none of this would be possible as there was no Internet and options for working and “playing” during the quarantine. Folks whose lives were geared towards face-to-face meetings, dates, sports, and gambling would have had to make do with limited options and would have most likely gone nuts. Thankfully we are in the third decade of the 21^st century and our options are many.

Some countries treated the Covid as a nuisance while others shut the doors and put the country on lockdown. Canada was one such country, although not as drastic as Australia, which followed the advice of those who claimed to understand the virus shut most of the country down. As a country known for its love of all things gambling there had to be options or “outlets” to satisfy their gambling itch. Here are a few things which increased the online gambling market.

Advertising, Advertising, and more Advertising

With the closure of most land-based casinos, the online gambling industry took a bunch of lemons and made lemonade. Even those brick-and-mortar casinos such as MGM have gotten into the online game and now have a significant online presence. For those North of the Border there were those online casinos which ramped up their advertising. Slotaholic.com was of these which jumped on the band wagon and capitalized in filling the void.

Advertising for online gambling is verboten in some spaces and is not as ubiquitous as other services or products. But with the lockdown and people working from home all day there was an opportunity to ramp things up. Gambling site advertisements started to pop up where the never did before, such as TV, and you didn’t have to be on a Porn site to see one of these.

Access to Online Casino Games

Desktops, Laptops, Tablets, and Smartphones are what provides access to these online casinos. Desktop and Laptops have been around since the inception of the Internet while Tablets and Smartphones have only enhanced accessibility while out and about. Although the lockdowns have increased play at home, Phones and Tablets have given players the ability to play anywhere.

There are two reason why the Smartphones and Tablets have become ubiquitous in not only online gambling but online access in general. The first is because of the power of the hardware and software in these devices. The storage, clarity, design, and small configuration have made these easy to carry around and use anywhere and at any time. The second is the power of WIFI services. Where once you had to physically connect to a slow dial-up line has evolved into a Wireless connection which has Bandwidth that couldn’t have been imagined even 5 years ago. This has created an environment where play is instantaneous and the games are just miniature versions of what you see at some casinos.

Bonuses, Games, and Rewards

Software Game Developers have overtaken the land-based casinos in the products they offer as well as the options for winning more money and free games. Although the odds are always with the House, many casinos attract players with a lots of extras such as free spins, multipliers, scatters, wilds, and the like. Games, especially the Slots/Pokies, have morphed into full blown video games which can be played at home or sitting on a tram heading to your next stop.

Because of these new devices, developers have gone from using the same template for PCs on the Tablets and Phones to creating new templates specifically suited for the small screens. This has simplified playing and especially navigating through the games.

Summary

Although the Online Casino industry was growing significantly before the Covid, the lockdown provided that extra boost which brought in those land-based players who refused to play online. With most casinos around the world closed, especially in Canada, sites such as Slotaholic.com and many others were finally able to draw the land casino players. Even if they didn’t continue playing there after casinos opened, they did get a taste and will most definitely be back.

Online Casinos are here for good and although they will never fully replace the traditional casino, they will continue to increase their presence and take advantage of the popularity of online play.